Broadcast positioning system supporting location services through over-the-air television (TV) signals

Abstract

Broadcast positioning systems supporting location services through over-the-air broadcast television (TV) signals are disclosed. The broadcast positioning system supports a broadcast TV signal format that includes a transmission time of the broadcast TV. The transmission time of the broadcast TV signal is used by a TV signal receiver to determine the propagation delay of the broadcast TV signal between the TV signal transmitter and the TV signal receiver. The TV signal receiver is also configured to receive multiple broadcast TV signals from multiple TV broadcasters, wherein the same delay of arrival for those broadcast TV signals can be determined. In this manner, the TV signal receiver can use the determined multiple delays of arrival from the multiple received broadcast TV signals as time-of-arrival (TOA) and the known locations of the antenna radiating these multiple broadcast TV signals to perform a trilateration or multilateration calculation to determine its position.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A television (TV) signal transmitter, comprising:
 a frame circuit configured to receive communications data and generate a plurality of communication frames each comprising:
 a preamble configured to indicate a transmission time of a respective one of the plurality of communication frames; and 
 a payload subframe comprising the communications data; and 
 
 a transmitter circuit configured to:
 determine a group delay between a time at which the preamble is generated and a time at which the respective one of the plurality of communication frames is transmitted; 
 update the transmission time in the preamble in each of the plurality of communication frames to include the determined group delay; and 
 generate a broadcast TV signal comprising the plurality of communication frames. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The TV signal transmitter of  claim 1 , wherein the transmitter circuit comprises:
 a waveform generation circuit configured to:
 insert a bootstrap before the preamble in each of the plurality of communication frames in the broadcast TV signal; and 
 generate a waveform for the broadcast TV signal; and 
 
 an RF transmitter circuit coupled to an antenna configured to emit the waveform. 
 
     
     
       3. The TV signal transmitter of  claim 2 , wherein the transmitter circuit is further configured to determine the group delay between generation of the preamble in each of the plurality of communication frames and emission of the bootstrap in the respective one of the plurality of communication frames. 
     
     
       4. The TV signal transmitter of  claim 2 , wherein the preamble comprises:
 a physical layer (L 1 ) basic signaling field configured to indicate presence or absence of the transmission time and precision of the transmission time; and 
 an L1 detail signal field comprising the transmission time. 
 
     
     
       5. The TV signal transmitter of  claim 4 , wherein the transmitter circuit is further configured to update the transmission time in the L 1  detail signal field to include the determined group delay between generation of the preamble and transmission of the bootstrap. 
     
     
       6. The TV signal transmitter of  claim 1 , wherein the transmitter circuit is further configured to determine the group delay based on a measurement performed by a measurement device. 
     
     
       7. The TV signal transmitter of  claim 6 , wherein the transmitter circuit is further configured to dynamically update the group delay based on a periodic feedback provided by the measurement device. 
     
     
       8. The TV signal transmitter of  claim 1 , wherein the transmitter circuit is further configured to transmit the broadcast TV signal in accordance with a single frequency network (SFN) configuration. 
     
     
       9. The TV signal transmitter of  claim 1 , wherein the transmitter circuit is further configured to:
 perform neighbor measurements on one or more neighboring TV stations; and 
 transmit the neighbor measurements in the broadcast TV signal to thereby improve resilience and robustness of location and time estimation. 
 
     
     
       10. The TV signal transmitter of  claim 1 , wherein the transmitter circuit is further configured to report a time reporting error between the transmission time in the preamble of a current one of the plurality of communication frames and the transmission time reported in the preamble of a preceding one of the plurality of communication frames. 
     
     
       11. The TV signal transmitter of  claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of communication frames comprises an Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) communication frame. 
     
     
       12. The TV signal transmitter of  claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of communication frames is an Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) 3.0 communication frame. 
     
     
       13. The TV signal transmitter of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the transmitter circuit is further configured to determine Global Positioning System (GPS) enhancement data used by a GPS receiver to acquire one or more GPS satellites; and 
 the transmitter circuit is configured to generate the broadcast TV signal by being configured to generate a broadcast TV signal further comprising the GPS enhancement data. 
 
     
     
       14. The TV signal transmitter of  claim 13 , wherein the GPS enhancement data comprises one or more of GPS almanac information and all or part of a Master Frame of a GPS satellite. 
     
     
       15. A method performed by a television (TV) signal transmitter for support broadcast positioning service (BPS), comprising:
 generating a plurality of communication frames each comprising:
 a preamble configured to indicate a transmission time of a respective one of the plurality of communication frames; and 
 a payload subframe comprising a communications data; 
 
 determining a group delay between a time at which the preamble is generated and a time at which the respective one of the plurality of communication frames is transmitted; 
 updating the transmission time in the preamble in each of the plurality of communication frames to include the determined group delay; and 
 generating a broadcast TV signal comprising the plurality of communication frames. 
 
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 15 , further comprising:
 inserting a bootstrap before the preamble in each of the plurality of communication frames in the broadcast TV signal; 
 generating a waveform for the broadcast TV signal; and 
 emitting the waveform. 
 
     
     
       17. The method of  claim 16 , further comprising determining the group delay between generation of the preamble in each of the plurality of communication frames and emission of the bootstrap in the respective one of the plurality of communication frames. 
     
     
       18. The method of  claim 16 , further comprising:
 indicating presence or absence of the transmission time and precision of the transmission time in a physical layer (L 1 ) basic signaling field in the preamble; and 
 indicating the transmission time in an L 1  detail signal field in the preamble. 
 
     
     
       19. The method of  claim 18 , further comprising updating the transmission time in the L 1  detail signal field to include the determined group delay between generation of the preamble and transmission of the bootstrap. 
     
     
       20. The method of  claim 15 , further comprising determining the group delay based on a measurement performed by a measurement device. 
     
     
       21. The method of  claim 20 , further comprising dynamically updating the group delay based on a periodic feedback provided by the measurement device. 
     
     
       22. The method of  claim 15 , further comprising transmitting the broadcast TV signal in accordance with a single frequency network (SFN) configuration. 
     
     
       23. The method of  claim 15 , further comprising:
 performing neighbor measurements on one or more neighboring TV stations; and 
 transmitting the neighbor measurements in the broadcast TV signal to thereby improve resilience and robustness of location and time estimation. 
 
     
     
       24. The method of  claim 15 , further comprising reporting a time reporting error between the transmission time in the preamble of a current one of the plurality of communication frames and the transmission time reported in the preamble of a preceding one of the plurality of communication frames. 
     
     
       25. The method of  claim 15 , wherein:
 the method further comprises determining Global Positioning System (GPS) enhancement data used by a GPS receiver to acquire one or more GPS satellites; and 
 generating the broadcast TV signal comprises generating a broadcast TV signal further comprising the GPS enhancement data. 
 
     
     
       26. The method of  claim 25 , wherein the GPS enhancement data comprises one or more of GPS almanac information and all or part of a Master Frame of a GPS satellite. 
     
     
       27. A non-transitory computer-readable medium, having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor device, cause the processor device to:
 generate a plurality of communication frames each comprising: 
 a preamble configured to indicate a transmission time of a respective one of the plurality of communication frames; and 
 a payload subframe comprising a communications data; 
 determine a group delay between a time at which the preamble is generated and a time at which the respective one of the plurality of communication frames is transmitted; 
 update the transmission time in the preamble in each of the plurality of communication frames to include the determined group delay; and 
 cause a television (TV) signal transmitter to generate a broadcast TV signal comprising the plurality of communication frames. 
 
     
     
       28. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 27 , wherein the computer-executable instructions further cause the processor device to:
 insert a bootstrap before the preamble in each of the plurality of communication frames in the broadcast TV signal; 
 cause the TV signal transmitter to generate a waveform for the broadcast TV signal; and 
 cause the TV signal transmitter to emit the waveform. 
 
     
     
       29. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 28 , wherein the computer-executable instructions further cause the processor device to determine the group delay between generation of the preamble in each of the plurality of communication frames and emission of the bootstrap in the respective one of the plurality of communication frames. 
     
     
       30. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 28 , wherein the computer-executable instructions further cause the processor device to:
 indicate presence or absence of the transmission time and precision of the transmission time in a physical layer (L 1 ) basic signaling field in the preamble; and 
 indicate the transmission time in an L 1  detail signal field in the preamble. 
 
     
     
       31. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 30 , wherein the computer-executable instructions further cause the processor device to update the transmission time in the L1 detail signal field to include the determined group delay between generation of the preamble and transmission of the bootstrap. 
     
     
       32. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 27 , wherein the computer-executable instructions further cause the processor device to determine the group delay based on a measurement performed by a measurement device. 
     
     
       33. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 32 , wherein the computer-executable instructions further cause the processor device to dynamically update the group delay based on a periodic feedback provided by the measurement device. 
     
     
       34. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 27 , wherein the computer-executable instructions further cause the processor device to cause the TV signal transmitter to transmit the broadcast TV signal in accordance with a single frequency network (SFN) configuration. 
     
     
       35. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 27 , wherein the computer-executable instructions further cause the processor device to:
 perform neighbor measurements on one or more neighboring TV stations; and 
 cause the TV signal transmitter to transmit the neighbor measurements in the broadcast TV signal to thereby improve resilience and robustness of location and time estimation. 
 
     
     
       36. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 27 , wherein the computer-executable instructions further cause the processor device to report a time report error between the transmission time in the preamble of a current one of the plurality of communication frames and the transmission time reported in the preamble of a preceding one of the plurality of communication frames. 
     
     
       37. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 27 , wherein:
 the computer-executable instructions further cause the processor device to determine Global Positioning System (GPS) enhancement data used by a GPS receiver to acquire one or more GPS satellites; and 
 the computer-executable instructions cause the processor device to generate the broadcast TV signal by causing the processor device to generate a broadcast TV signal further comprising the GPS enhancement data. 
 
     
     
       38. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 37 , wherein the GPS enhancement data comprises one or more of GPS almanac information and all or part of a Master Frame of a GPS satellite.